Deric McKamey On Top-15 Padres Prospects

Deric McKamey, one of baseball’s preeminent minor league experts, has stopped by MadFriars.com to provide his top-15 San Diego Padres prospects, as published in his third annual Minor League Baseball Analyst. Deric will answer reader questions on his list in a separate article later this month.

Deric McKamey has been BaseballHQ’s Director of Minor League Analysis for 10 years and a baseball analyst for 20. A long-time disciple of Bill James and formally trained by MLB Scout School, McKamey is uniquely skilled to integrate sabermetrics and scouting. His prospect evaluation skills and many contacts have served him well in all aspects of his job, including advising the St. Louis Cardinals since 2004.

McKamey and BaseballHQ publish their Organizational Ratings for all 30 major league teams annually, ranking and analyzing each organization’s top 15 prospects, as well as scoring each organization in the areas of hitting, pitching, and top-end talent.

McKamey takes his work much further in print form. Year three of the Minor League Baseball Analyst is available to order. In this book, McKamey profiles 1,000 prospects from across the game with in-depth scouting reports and stats that include batter skills ratings, runner speed, pitch repertoires, major league equivalents, ultimate potential, and much more. If readers order the Minor League Baseball Analyst from HQ directly, McKamey will include online updates in March.

Through the generosity of McKamey and BaseballHQ, following is a subset of their rankings, which covers their top-15 San Diego Padres prospects, along with the rating system used to elucidate the rankings.

Note: As a supplement to this list, McKamey will respond to your questions about these Padres prospects and any others you might have on the entire Padres farm system. To participate, either send your questions to or post your questions on MadFriars.com message boards. We'll collect them and publish his answers in a subsequent article.

DERIC MCKAMEY’S TOP-15 SAN DIEGO PADRES PROSPECTS

1. Matt Antonelli (2B)- 8B
2. Chase Headley (3B)- 8B
3. Mat Latos (RHP)- 9D
4. Will Inman (RHP)- 8C
5. Cedric Hunter (OF)- 8C
6. Kyle Blanks (1B)- 9D
7. Kellen Kulbacki (OF)- 8C
8. Chad Huffman (OF)- 8C
9. Cory Luebke (LHP)- 8D
10. Wade LeBlanc (LHP)- 7C
11. Mitch Canham (C)- 7C
12. Drew Miller (RHP)- 8D
13. Drew Cumberland (SS)- 8D
14. Cesar Carrillo (RHP)- 8D
15. Will Venable (OF)- 8D

PLAYER POTENTIAL RATING
Scale of (1-10) representing a player's upside potential

10 - Hall of Fame-type player
9 - Elite player
8 - Solid regular
7 - Average regular
6 - Platoon player
5 - Major league reserve player
4 - Top minor league player
3 - Average minor league player
2 - Minor league reserve player
1 - Minor league roster filler

PROBABILITY RATING
Scale of (A-E) representing the player's realistic chances of achieving their potential

A - 90% probability of reaching potential
B - 70% probability of reaching potential
C - 50% probability of reaching potential
D - 30% probability of reaching potential
E - 10% probability of reaching potential